Lesson 1.26: The King's Teaching About His Worship (Part 2)

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Lesson 1.26 – The King's Teaching About His Worship (Part 2)

"16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry... 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:16-28). KJV

4. Worship In The Early Church - Giving

Loved one, the practice of giving God one-tenth of one's earnings is very old. Abraham gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything he had taken in his battle with the kings (Genesis 14:20). Jacob agreed to give God one-tenth of all the things God gave him (Genesis 28:22).

Under the Law of Moses, the Israelites were required to give one-tenth of their crops and farm animals (Leviticus 27:30-31). The Jews were still giving one-tenth of their earnings to God in New Testament times.

Jesus had new ideas about giving. He never told His followers how much to give to God. He simply encouraged them to lay up treasures in heaven.

He said, "Don't save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them, and thieves can break into your house and steal them. Instead, save your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust, and where thieves cannot break in and steal them" (Matthew 6:19-21).

The safest possessions we have are those we give to God. Jesus said, "Give to others, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands – more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you" (Luke 6:38).

The more we give to God, the more God gives to us. God always gives us more than we give Him.

One day, Jesus sat near the temple money box and watched people put in their gifts. Many rich people came and put a lot of money in the box. Then, a poor widow came and gave only two small copper coins.

Jesus said to His followers, "This poor widow gave only two small coins, but the truth is, she gave more than all the rich people. They have plenty; and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. It was money she needed to live on" (Mark 12:43-44).

Jesus praised this poor widow, not because she gave a lot of money, but because she gave everything she had. She made a real sacrifice for God. God is more concerned about our attitude in giving than He is about the amount we give.

Giving In The Early Church

When Christians in Judea needed food, the church in Corinth took up a collection for those SAINTS. Paul said, "On the first day of every week, each one of you should take some of your money and put it in a special place. Save up as much as you can from what you are blessed with" (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

Paul asked them to give as much as they could, according to the way God had blessed them. Since the Christians in Corinth worshiped on Sunday, the first day of every week (Acts 20:7), that was a good time for them to offer their gifts.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul praised the Christians in Macedonia. The believers in Macedonia had been tested by great troubles. They were very poor, but they gave with joy. In fact, they gave more than they could afford.

They did this freely. No one told them to do this, but they asked Paul again and again to let them share in this service to God's people. They even begged Paul to let them participate.

They did this because "they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us before they gave their money. This is what God wants" (2 Corinthians 8:5). Giving to God is an act of worship. It is an act of love and thanksgiving. First, we give ourselves to God. Then we give our money.

In giving, we recognize God as the source of our blessings. In giving, we put our trust in God. The more we love and trust God, the more we give.

God Loves A Cheerful Giver

Paul reminded the Corinthians that the farmer who plants little will harvest little, but the farmer who plants much will harvest much. That principle applies to us today.

"Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. God loves those who are happy to give. And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything" (2 Corinthians 9:7-8).

Giving with a happy cheerful heart shows that we really believe God will take care of us. "God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely" (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).

Do you want God to be generous to you? Then be generous in your giving to God. God does not need our gifts. He already owns the universe. "The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord" (1 Corinthians 10:26).

God wants us to give because we need to give. Giving is good for us. It helps us become more like Christ who gave His life for us. It helps us become more like God who "loved the world so much that he gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Giving proves that God is more important to us than money.

5. Worship In The Early Church – The Lord's Supper

The communion, or Supper of the Lord, is the last avenue of community worship taught by Jesus.

On the night before Jesus died, He ate the Passover meal with His apostles. "While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to His followers and said, 'Take this bread and eat it. It is my body'" (Matthew 26:26).

Then Jesus took a cup of wine, thanked God for it and gave it to His followers. He said, "Each one of you drink some of it. This wine is my blood which will be poured out to forgive the sins of many" (Matthew 26:28).

Jesus also said, "This cup represents the new agreement from God, which begins with my blood sacrifice. Drink this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:25-26). This means that every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are telling others about the Lord's death until He comes again.

Paul warns, "If you eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that does not fit its meaning, you are sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Before you eat the bread and drink the cup, you should examine your own attitude" (1 Corinthians 11:27-28).

The Bread Reminds Us Of The Body Of Christ

The bread that Jesus gave to His apostles was unleavened bread. It had no yeast in it. This bread reminds us of the sinless body of Jesus that was nailed to a Roman cross. When Jesus said, "This bread is my body," he was using a figure of speech. The bread represented His body.

When we partake of the Lord's Supper today, we eat a small piece of unleavened bread. We think of the body of Christ hanging on the cross. In our mind, we watch the Roman soldiers drive nails through His hands and feet. We see them press a crown of thorns upon His head. We hear Jesus pray, "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

The Wine Reminds Us Of The Blood Of Christ

The red wine or grape juice that Jesus gave to His apostles was a symbol of His own blood that He would soon shed on the cross. When Jesus said, "This wine is my blood," He was using symbolic language. At that moment, His blood was still in His veins, not in the cup.

When we drink what is in the cup, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In our minds, we see blood flowing from Jesus' back as Roman soldiers whip Him with a leather scourge. We see blood streaming from His hands and feet. We see blood and water gushing from His dead body as a soldier thrusts a spear into Jesus' side (John 19:34).

We remember these horrible things because they remind us of the love of God and of the sacrifice of Christ. They help us remember that Jesus paid our debt. We are sinful, and we deserve to die. He was sinless, and He deserved to live, but He took our place on the cross.

When we take the Lord's Supper, we look into the past, and we see Christ hanging on the cross. We also look into the future and see His glorious second coming.

Christians Break Bread At Troas

On his third missionary journey, Paul spent seven days in Troas. Luke wrote about this visit. Luke said, "On Sunday, the first day of the week, we all met together to eat the Lord's Supper. Paul talked to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he continued talking until midnight" (Acts 20:7).

The early Christians ate the Lord's Supper every Sunday. The Lord's Supper was at the center of their worship. They were very serious while partaking of the Lord's Supper because it took their hearts and minds back to the sacrifice of Christ. The Lord's Supper is just as important to us today.

While eating the Lord's Supper, Christians remember how Jesus Christ suffered and died to take away our sins. These things lie at the heart of the Good News. Therefore, we eat the Lord's Supper every first day of the week. To partake of it less often is to deprive ourselves of an important source of spiritual nourishment.

Offering Ourselves To God Is Worship

The apostle Paul said, "Offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way" (Romans 12:1-2).

When we give ourselves to God, we are giving Him more than our money. We are giving Him our time, our talent, our energy, our possessions, and our heart. We give God everything as a gift of love.

The most common New Testament word for "worship" means "kissing the hand toward God." In worship, we kiss the hand toward God. Real worship is telling God we love Him and then showing Him how much we care by the way we live.

Points To Remember In This Lesson

1. God blesses those who give with a cheerful heart. In giving to God, we lay up treasures in heaven. In giving, we show that we love God more than we love money and that we trust Him to supply our needs. In giving, we become like Christ who gave His life for us.

2. The early church placed great emphasis upon the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper was at the heart of Christian worship every Sunday. In eating the Lord's Supper, a Christian communes with God at the deepest level. We remember the sacrifice of Jesus. We celebrate His victory over death, and we look forward to His glorious coming.